Revitalizing Local Economies

As a regional financial institution, the Group hopes to achieve a “sustainable virtuous circle” in which we also grow by proactively working to resolve regional and social issues and contributing to making the region attracive and the revitalization of local economies.
Based on these policies, we support the implementation of measures to realize the regional vision of the government and are moving forward with initiatives (regional strategy promotion activities) to solve regional and social issues such as “creating towns”, “creating flows of people”, and “creating jobs”. We are fulfilling our role as a regional hub, expanding the scope of industry-academia-government-finance collaboration, and strengthening our efforts to revitalize local communities and solve their problems.

Based on this policy, the Bank of Yokohama is working to revitalize local communities and to resolve issues with the regional strategy promotion system. As a result, we achieved our single fiscal year target of 20 projects in FY2022, exceeding the target of 15 projects in the medium-term management plan.

EV car sharing is attracting attention as a measure to reduce CO2 emissions in the transportation sector, and this platform too has been sharing knowledge for its introduction. The Bank of Yokohama has concluded partnership agreements with Isehara City, ENEOS Corporation, and Hamagin Finance to develop an EV car sharing business through public-private partnership. In normal times, they will be used for car sharing, and in times of disaster, they will be used as “movable storage batteries” at evacuation centers and other places.
(Partners: Isehara City, ENEOS Corporation, Hamagin Finance)

The Bank of Yokohama participated as the operating secretariat in the Yokohama PPP Platform (Yopp), which was established by the City of Yokohama to promote participation in PPP/PFI projects by companies in the city and to work with a variety of private sector companies on PPP/PFI projects. The Bank held the first seminar in November 2022 and the first PPP study session in January 2023. We will support activities on this platform through financial cooperation, matching companies with each other, etc. to solve local issues and to create local attractions, thereby contributing to the sustainable growth and revitalization of the local economy.

The Bank of Yokohama implemented “Kanagawa Pay,” a cashless consumption stimulus project that it is working on together with Kanagawa Prefecture. (First phase: October 2021, Second phase: July 2022, Third phase: July 2023) This project is an initiative to reward consumers with points equivalent to up to 20% of the amount of QR code payments made through “Kanagawa Pay” when paying at participating merchants in the prefecture. The Bank of Yokohama, as a representative organization of the joint venture, was entrusted by Kanagawa Prefecture with the management of this project and promoted cashless payments as a payment provider that offers the HamaPay smartphone payment service.

The Bank of Yokohama signed a “Collaboration Agreement on Community Revitalization” with Kiyokawa Village in November 2019 and an “Agreement on Collaboration and Cooperation for Sustainable Community Revitalization” with Coen Co., Ltd. in November 2021, and has been attracting business partners in the restaurant industry and planning and implementing events such as the Money Classroom. In October 2022, in cooperation with Sunautus Corporation, we supported the introduction of an electric scooter rental business at the Coen Miyagase store to revitalize tourism.

The Bank of Yokohama is committed to solving local community issues by strengthening collaboration between industry, academia, government, and finance.
Yokohama National University, a national university with which we have concluded a comprehensive collaboration agreement, has appointed Bank of Yokohama employees as “Yokohama National University Industry-Academia-GovernmentFinance Collaboration Coordinators” to serve as a bridge between the university, which conducts research that contributes to solving problems, and corporate customers, who have technical problems to solve. In July 2022, the Bank of Yokohama concluded a comprehensive partnership agreement with Aoyama Gakuin University to accelerate sustainable growth and revitalization of the local economy through industry-academiagovernment-finance collaboration. In October of the same year, Bank of Yokohama employees were appointed by Aoyama Gakuin University as “Aoyama Gakuin University Industry-Academia-Government-Finance Collaboration Coordinators”
Furthermore, in February 2023, we held the “Tokyo Institute of Technology-Bank of Yokohama Collaboration New Technology Matching Meeting” with the Tokyo Institute of Technology. As a result of these efforts, the number of consultations on industryacademia-government-finance collaboration has increased year after year.

Since October 2021, the Bank of Yokohama operates “Kanacolle”, a new e-commerce site that supports local companies’ efforts to develop products and expand sales channels through the “New Product Development Support Project Silent Partnership,” which both TV Tokyo Communications Corporation (TXCOM) and Yokohama Shinko Co., Ltd., have invested in since October 2021. On “Kanacolle”, newly developed bags, shoes, cushions, sweets, coffee, etc. from local companies are sold as original products in collaboration with TXCOM’s characters, programs, and other intellectual property (IP).

The Group’s Bank of Yokohama is implementing the “Hamagin Building the Future Action Program”, an initiative to provide activity incentive funds to NPOs in Kanagawa Prefecture that are working to solve the problem of child poverty. In the first round of the program in FY2022, a total of ¥2.51 million in activity incentives was provided to three selected NPOs, and in cooperation with Kanagawa Prefecture, which has concluded an SDGs promotion agreement, we called for support for NPOs and promoted mutual aid efforts.
In addition, from November 2022, we have been providing support through donations to the overseas scholarship program for high school students offered by the Hamagin Industrial and Cultural Promotion Charitable Foundation. The program provides high school students with opportunities to study abroad and encourages the development of global human resources who will contribute to the economic development of Kanagawa Prefecture.

As a member of the local community, the Group actively participates in local festivals, events, and volunteer activities.
We also believe that employee participation in social contribution activities is conducive to the growth of each and every employee, and we support such activities. For example, the Bank of Yokohama has established a system for work-life balance time off that can be taken when participating in community and volunteer activities and also offers a points subsidy system for employee participation in volunteer activities and provides opportunities for volunteer activities such as food drives.

The Group participates in cleanups and other activities in cooperation with local residents.
In November 2022, the Bank of Yokohama participated in a beach cleanup activity led by government, businesses, NPOs, and local residents to protect beautiful beaches.